Demons of Riptide
by zathura
Summary: Lone survivor of the Riptide project, Talia must find her way to safety and recover her memory while trying to find a way to end the invasion of the strange terrors created at Riptide. (Rated for language and brief nudity.)plz R
1. Default Chapter

Chapter one  
  
Talia awoke to a dimly lit room. Though her vision soon cleared, her mind was still in disarray. As she looked around the room, she noticed there was rubble and debris, apparently from an explosion. Signs of looting were also evident, as beakers and test tubes had been thrown about carelessly, while cabinets were empty, with no trace of the items they once held. "I...guess this is some sort of laboratory." She thought aloud. Suddenly her eyes grew wide with fear. She couldn't remember anything before she had woken up. Her name, this place, it was all a blur. She checked herself over for any form of identification, stopping with a small tag that read, ::Talia Mitri::. "I see, well...I suppose I shouldn't complain, at least it's a nice name." She mused over this for a moment before a small noise caught her attention. It appeared to be coming from the adjacent room. She proceeded to the door in futility, as access had been blocked due to fallen debris. She decided to investigate her surroundings a little before trying to find an exit. As she searched through the debris, she found, among other things, a book. The cover of which was blank. As she opened it, the entries were hand-written and dated, and so she assumed it was some sort of log book. "I'll read this later, after I'm out of here." She also found a small dagger buried under the remains of a broken table. It had a little blood on the blade, but she wiped it off on her shirt and slipped it into her belt. As she was searching, she found a shattered mirror. At least half of it was still in the frame, so she dared take a look. She was an attractive woman, though you would'nt think it if you saw her as she saw herself. Her face and clothes were covered in dirt, her clothes were ripped to shreds, (from the explosion, she suspected.) She also noticed a large gash in her forehead, and a somewhat smaller cut near her temple. Until now she hadn't even noticed the pain, but as she stood in front of the mirror and saw the wounds, cuts and bruises, her entire body began to ache. "Well, enough of this. I need to find my way out of here." As she again walked over to the door, she realized that it had not been blocked accidentally. It had been barricaded! "She almost had second thoughts about using the door to escape, but as she took another look, she realized it was the only way, as there were no windows or air vents.  
  
She began moving the debris out of the way by hand. The barricade was constructed of assorted objects. Pieces of a table, a chair, stool, as well as a large metal crate. None of it was that heavy by itself, but apparently had been enough to keep....whatever it was, out. As she moved the last of the debris, she drew the small dagger she had found before opening the door. What she saw on the other side excited, and at the same time, apalled her. The door had previously led into a corridor which spread around the perimeter of the former compound, but now only led to impassable walls of collapsed ceiling. Bodies of scientists littered the floor...in pieces. Some had had their throats cut, others had limbs missing, and others seemed half eaten or cut into unidentifiable pieces. However, a passage had been cut into the opposite wall, which to her jubilation, led outside. As she crossed the corridor to pass through the hole, she noticed that the cut was jagged and not at all precise. This didn't surprise her nearly as much as the fact that it had been made of 4 inch thick steel. As she stepped outside, the afternoon sun warmed her skin, and she basked in it, arms wide, as she took fresh air into her lungs. This bout of relaxation passed as she heard an unnerving shuffling sound behind her in the now pitch black corridor. She decided she should get away from this place, and quickly. She walked along the rounded outside wall until she came to a bit of a snag. The compound had been built in the most peculiar of places, she noticed. Half was placed in a forest area, and the other half had been built in the desert which bordered the forest. She now had two options. She could traipse through the desert, with no food or water, and pray she would find help. Her other option, which seemed to be best, was to travel through the forest. Her reasoning brought her to the conclusion that...vegetation means water, and water means animals. She hoped whatever animals she might come across could be dealt with by her dagger, as she had no other weapons and would need to hunt or forage for food, at least for the time being.  
  
After nearly an hour's walk through the forest, Talia spotted a small stream about 40 feet away. She ran to it, her throat dry and cracked from walking. Even the shade offered by the immense trees did little to decrease the effects of the burning sun overhead. She dropped to her knees at the bank of the stream and thrust her head into the water. After choking a little on the cold water, she decided it wasn't going anywhere and simply drank from her cupped hands. The water refreshed her thoroughly and she was quite satisfied for the moment. After making sure nobody was around, (which she did simply out of bashfulness.) she removed her clothes and stepped into the waist high stream to bathe. She washed her clothes as best she could, and after she finished washing her face and rinsing her hair, she hung them on a low branch to dry. After realizing that she was completely nude, she decided to keep her shirt, wet or not, and at least wrap it around her waist. She also took her small dagger and slipped it between the shirt, being careful not to cut herself. After a few minutes of exploring, she found a small berry bush. Though she couldn't exactly remember what kind of berries they were, she somehow knew they were safe to eat. She attributed this to her, "woman's intuition". She ate a couple handfuls before tying off her shirt and using it as a makeshift satchel so she could take some berries back to the stream. She slung the berries over her shoulder and contentedly walked back to her "camp". She pulled a large leaf off of a nearby bush to use as a plate and dumped the berries out onto it. She then hung her shirt back up to dry with the rest of her clothes. After eating a bit more and taking several more drinks from the stream, she found that her clothes had dried and gladly redressed. Her long red hair, now dry, hung about her shoulders, and she somehow felt like herself again. She took one more drink from the stream before stuffing the pockets of her pants with the remaining berries, and, before setting off, made sure her dagger was safely secured in her belt.  
  
As Talia continued through the dense forest, she was refreshed to see that there were streams about every 30 minutes walking distance. "At least I shouldn't have to worry about water." She told herself. She walked for about 4 hours before stopping at another stream. She had already finished off the berries she'd brought with her, and was starting to get hungry again. She took a few drinks from the stream, then started walking again, hoping she might find another berry bush. As she was poking through the bushes, she heard a faint thump behind her. As she turned to investigate, she felt a cold steel blade pressed against her neck. She cautiously turned her head to get a good look at her attacker, and what she found surprised her more than anything else. A young girl stood in front of her, holding a long staff weapon with a large blade at the end. The girl had bright, white hair that came to her shoulders, and olive green eyes. She wore a simple armor of leather, woven vine and bark. The girl looked surprised as she saw Talia's face. "You...you're not one of them are you?" Talia was more confused than ever. "One of what?" The girl withdrew her weapon and extended a hand to help her up. "I thought you were one of the demons that has appeared in the forest." Talia cocked an eyebrow, not understanding. "Demons? What do you mean, demons?" The girl leaned against a tree and explained to Talia how strange creatures had showed up in the forest about 3 days prior. This was preceded by a massive explosion at the nearby research facility. "I'm surprised you didn't know, you did come from that direction didn't you?" Talia nodded her head. "How long have you been wandering in the forest?" Talia thought for a moment, then said "About six hours I guess." Talia looked at the young girl and noticed she had long and, slightly pointed ears. "Excuse me, but...what exactly are you?" The girl gave out a sharp laugh. "What do you mean...what am I? I'm an elf of course." She laughed again before seeing that Talia was quite serious. "Err...and my name is Dione. What's yours." Talia looked uncomfortably at the ground. "Apparently it's Talia...Talia Mitri." Now it was Dione's turn to be confused. "What do you mean, apparently? Is that your name or isn't it?" Talia seemed even more uncomfortable. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. I can't remember anything before this morning." Dione's complextion softened. "Oh, I..I'm sorry. I didn't know."  
  
It was then, that they heard a rustling sound not far away. Talia remembered it as the same sound from the lab. "It's a demon! Quickly, do you have a weapon?" Talia showed Dione her dagger. "That little thing! That won't even make a scratch, c'mon, we need to leave." Talia wasn't in a position to argue, as Dione grabbed her arm and started running. "Damn she's strong for a little kid." Talia thought as her feet stumbled to try and keep up with the small elf. A few minutes later, they ran across a path through the forest. It was pretty wide, so Talia imagined it was for travelers or caravans to cross through the forest without getting lost. As they passed through the last of the trees and onto the path, the last thing they saw before hitting the ground was polished steel. 


	2. Chapter two

CHAPTER TWO  
  
Lynard had been traveling along the forest path for some time now. The last two days had been spent walking alongside a trader caravan tossing stories of their travels back and forth. Then, that morning, the caravan had taken a separate route to go back to their village. Lynard had begun to wonder if the next day and a half would be as boring as his imagination made it out to be. Even if he did find somebody to talk to, it was doubtful they would have anything to do with him. Born into the race of barbarians, he was cursed by prejudice. He was quite intelligent, and hid it well. Most people took him for a careless, happy go-lucky fellow, and none thought him too bright. He did this on purpose simply because a smart barbarian was considered, well...dangerous. Combine the immense strength of a barbarian, with the strategic intellect of a military general, and you have a force to be reckoned with. Knowing this, Lynard thought it best to play down his intelligence. It wasn't very hard, as he really didn't have a care in the world. All he wanted was a life of travel and adventure, and hopefully one day, be able to play hero to some damsel in distress and settle down with a family. Of course he knew very well this would not...no, could not happen. Barbarians were fighters by nature. That's what they were born to do. Once a barbarian had tasted the thrill of battle, they could never abandon it completely. It was because of this that Lynard traveled. He sought adventure and battle to win himself a name as the greatest warrior in the world. Little did he know that today would be the beginning of his legacy...whether he liked it or not.  
  
Lynard had stopped on the path to rest and have a small meal. The caravan had been kind enough to resupply him before they departed, so he had more than enough food, water, and wine to last until he reached the city of Theodin. After he had laid out some bread and dried meat, he couldn't wait to dig in. After all, besides their heartiness in battle, barbarians are also famed for their insatiable hunger. "Wow! This looks so good. I can't believe they gave me all this! I'll have to be sure to thank those kind nomads should I see them again." Right as he was sitting down to his meal, he was literally bulldozed by two girls running out of the woods. He propped himself up on his elbow and rubbed his shoulder. "Hey! what's going on, can't you see I'm in the middle of a meal?" As lynard looked to see who knocked him down, he completely forgot what he'd just said, and his mind shifted to the girls more, appealing aspects. "Today's my lucky day!" He thought to himself. "Who'd ever have thought I'd have the chance to meet two pretty girls out on this god-forsaken road." The two girls got up and looked behind them. He noticed that one was an elf, and she spoke first. "If you care for your life, I suggest you run!" Lynard became confused. His mind was on something else completely. Her words entered his mind, "If you care....pretty.....I suggest.....we date....run!?" "What was that again?" He asked. The elf's face changed from fear to irritation. "Dumb barbarian, you didn't understand a word I said, did you? Look, there's a demon chasing us, so if you want to survive, you'd better get to running!" Lynard understood this time, and calmly stood up. "Why run, when you can fight?" Saying that, he drew a gigantic sword, the kind of blade only a barbarian could use, simply because a normal man would be crushed by it's sheer weight. The elf stared at him slack-jawed. "ARE YOU STUPID!? Do you know what that thing will DO TO YOU!?" Lynard looked at her and simply said. "I know exactly what it will do...die."  
  
The two girls retreated to a spot about ten feet behind the barbarian. The elf spoke to the human girl, "This should be interesting, but remember, as soon as the barbarian falls, start running. This spectacle should at least let us catch our breath." The human girl understood and nodded, though she seemed a bit disturbed that they were using this poor guy as bait so they could rest. Lynard, on the other hand, wasn't worried at all. It was a widely believed rumor that barbarians were incapable of fear. Whether they were born that way, or conditioned as children was unknown. Lynard waited silently, as the rustling sound grew closer. He could not see past the trees, but due to his extensive battle training, he could determine the creature's location by the sound it was making as it made it's way to them. He listened intently. "Thirty feet....twenty feet...thirteen feet, damn this thing's fast....FIVE FEET!!" At this he brought his mighty sword down just as the creature lept from the trees. The blade landed squarely on it's head and sliced it in two. Lynard stared in confusion at the...tiny...creature that lay before him. It was very pale, almost white. It had no eyes or mouth that he could make out. It's thin body closely resembled that of a snake or lizard, and it's two arms seemed to be defensive blades. Lynard knelt over the creature, which was still twitching in the dirt, and picked up half of it. He then turned to the girls and simply asked, "This is what you were so terrified of?" The elf, too shocked to speak, simply stared at Lynard like he had performed some sort of miracle. The human however, seemed to share his sentiments, and began laughing so hard she fell over backwards. The combination of the human's fit of laughter and the slack-jawed expression on the elf's face sent Lynard into hysterics. He still couldn't believe they had been so terrified of this thing that they had plowed over him.  
  
Lynard dropped the piece of the creature he was holding and introduced himself to the girls. The elf regained her composure and said that her name was Dione. The human girl finally stopped laughing and introduced herself as Talia. From their looks, Lynard assumed that they had been running for several minutes, and at the speed they had kept, had probably been somewhere close to a mile run. He asked them if they would like to share his provisions and Talia gladly agreed, saying that she was parched and had dropped the small amount of berries she still had during the run. Dione however, was hesitant. It wasn't that she was not hungry or thirsty, she simply didn't want to accept charity from a man who had gotten a good laugh at her expense and humiliation. After a few moments of watching Talia eat hungrily, her attitude towards Lynard's kindness changed drastically, and she knelt down beside Talia and began eating as well. Lynard sheathed his sword and smiled. So maybe he wouldn't be able to score a date. He didn't really care, as he enjoyed performing acts of kindness. It always made him happy to help others, and what made it more enjoyable, was that nobody expected it to come from a barbarian. He sat down across from them and watched them eat with a content look on his face. Talia noticed this. "Why the big smile huh?" Lynard blushed a little and scratched his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just glad I could help out." He smiled again. His smile was so disarming. When you saw it, you felt...protected somehow. Dione didn't like this one bit. As an elf, she had been raised not to trust others. Especially outside races. She submitted however, and continued eating. After all, why would he save their lives and offer his rations, only to turn around and do them harm?  
  
As they finished eating, Lynard packed what was left in his satchel and slung it over his shoulder. "So, what are such pretty girls doing out in the forest all alone? Who knows, you could have been eaten by that lizard thing." This thought sent Lynard into another fit of laughter, but he quickly got it under control when he noticed Dione's cold eyes on him. Talia spoke up. "Well, we were actually looking for some help. Like a...town or something." Lynard thought for a second. "Well, let's see. Theodin is only a day's walk from here. Other than that, the closest town would be about five days back that way." He said, pointing behind him. Talia and Dione conversed by themselves for a moment, with Dione constantly glancing at Lynard, as if she were expecting some surprise attack. Once they finished, Talia looked at Lynard. "Well, we don't really have any supplies. Would you mind if we joined you on your way to Theodin?" Lynard shook his head, telling them that they were more than welcome to join him. After all, he couldn't very well leave two girls out in the wild by themselves. As he said this last part he struck his manliest pose and stuck his chin in the air, provoking laughs from both girls.  
  
As they walked along the path in the setting sun, Talia couldn't help but notice how small she felt next to Lynard. He stood at least seven feet tall, compared to her mere five feet, ten inches. His shoulder span had to be a good three and a half feet across, and his arms were as round as cantalope. By looking at his sword, she guessed that it must weigh at least one-hundred, seventy pounds. That was almost thirty pounds more than she weighed, and yet he handled it like it was nothing more than a stick. Dione however kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, not saying anything unless Talia asked a question. Lynard however, was more concerned about the fact that he had two beautiful girls on either side of him, and he couldn't have been happier. "I saved their asses from that creature, and now I'm escorting them to Theodin. The least they could do is go on a date with me....right?" He started drawing out these complex scenarios of romance. Goblins and dark elves, constantly capturing his wonderful maidens, while he would always show up to the rescue and receive a gift of their appreciation. By noon the next day, they had reached Theodin without any trouble, while Lynard frantically devised plans of how to keep himself close to the girls. As they stood at the gates to the city, Lynard was afraid they would take their leave of him. He was overjoyed when Dione, despite her afflictions towards Lynard, that their party stay together...for a little while anyway, and that they should find a room for the night. 


	3. Chapter 3

[Author's note] Normally I don't like putting these notes in my stories, but I've been forgetting to say a couple things. First of all, I'd like to thank my friend Maelstrom for letting me use her character's name and likeness as the beautiful elf, Dione.

Secondly, I know this chapter is a little short, and you may be wondering, "what happened to Lynard's bit?" Well, the next chapter will be dealing with him, as it would be too long to include in this one. Well, that's all I have to say for now, so enjoy the rest of the story.

CHAPTER THREE  
  
[Dione]  
  
Dione was astonished at the beauty of Theodin. She had never seen anything so magnificent. In fact, the only reason that she was even out of the forest was because of Talia. She had hoped to return to the forest after Talia had reached someplace safe, but as she stared at the wondrous city before her, she decided it wouldn't hurt to stay for awhile. She and Talia had convinced Lynard to stay with them for the night, partly because he helped them the day before, and they would've felt bad if they had just left him on his own. "I guess he's not such a bad guy after all." Dione thought to herself. She continued to walk alongside Lynard and Talia as they entered the walled city. Talia commented that it looked more like a fortress than a city, and Dione agreed. Lynard began explaining the city's origins as a battlefield encampment. After the war between the Nobles and the Viashino nomads, some of the soldiers stayed behind and built shelters. After a few years it became a meager trading post for travelers, where they could buy supplies and rest to regain their strength for the journey ahead. A few decades passed, and with the money that the residents made from trading, they bought supplies to build even more elaborate structures and walls to defend the steadily growing village. Finally, after nearly one hundred-fifty years later, it made it's final transition into the magnificent city they saw before them. Talia was amazed that something like this could be accomplished in a mere one hundred and fifty years, but accepted it nonetheless.  
  
As Dione walked along the cobblestone street, she noticed that the buildings all seemed to shimmer with a golden light. When asked about this, Lynard explained to her that it was a result of using powerstones as an energy source for the city. Dione looked around in awe at the diversity of people in Theodin. There were high elves buying and selling potions and recipes to the human mages. Dwarves selling their expertly crafted weapons and armors, of which Lynard took an interest in. There were the leonin, the cat men from the high mountains, who rarely came to ground level unless it were a matter of war or politics. But perhaps out of all of these, Dione was most surprised to see the Aven, a proud race of bird people, who normally thought themselves much too superior to the ground dwelling races to even talk to them, and here they were walking among them as if they were equals. Theodin certainly did give off an aura of peace and harmony. As they continued down the main street, they ran across a street which seemed to consist entirely of inns. They entered the first to their left and walked to the desk. Lynard stepped forward, as he was the only one with money at the time. "We would like a room please." The manager looked at the trio. "Would you like a separate room for the ladies?" Lynard blushed. "Oh, umm yes." The manager pulled out a large, leatherbound book from a drawer and asked Lynard to sign it. The manager gave them their room numbers and gave a key to Lynard and one to Dione.  
  
After receiving her key, Dione turned towards Lynard and Talia. "Well, there's still some daylight left, I think I'll explore the city a bit. I'll meet you here before nightfall." They all agreed and, after Lynard gave them both a small amount of money, they split up for the remainder of the afternoon. As Dione walked back outside of the inn, she still couldn't believe how beautiful Theodin was, and couldn't wait to see what else this city had in store for her. She walked for nearly 3 hours, taking in every sight and sound she could. She saw tailor's shops with expensive, but oh so pretty dresses and suits that only nobles could hope to afford. She also ran across several food vendors selling boiled mutton, stew, or fruit. After buying a piece of smoked meat she continued on, eating as she walked. The stones in the road had been smoothed by the passage of time, as well as the thousands of people and wagons traveling over them every day. The walls of the buildings, with their slight shimmer, made the city look almost electrified as night came. "Night? Oh no, I forgot I was supposed to be back by now." Dione yelped as she started jogging back to the inn.  
  
She made it to her room just in time to see Talia walk out of the small bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. "Oh, so you decided to come back after all." She said with a slight giggle. Dione laughed as she explained how she had lost track of time while in the city. "Did you come back with Lynard?" Talia asked. "Oh...no I didn't. Has he not come back yet?" With a raised eyebrow, Talia said, "No, not that I'm aware of, I thought maybe you two had run across each other outside and come back together." Dione tugged on her earlobe as she thought. She gave up and told Talia that they shouldn't worry. After all, he was a barbarian, and quite capable of taking care of himself. Talia agreed as she dropped her towel to get dressed. At this moment an excited Lynard burst through the door, arms full of armor and clothes he had bought. Dione prepared herself mentally for what was about to happen. SMACK! The room shook with the sound of four hundred pounds of steel crashing to the floor. As soon as Lynard had stepped through the door unnanounced, Talia had walked over, completely naked, and given him the slap of his life. She quickly pulled the towel back up around her body and stood there glaring at Lynard with a look that could kill. Lynard's face was beet red, but not red enough to hide the slowly fading hand print on his face. Dione shooed Lynard out of the room after he had picked up his things.   
  
[Talia]  
  
Talia was still quite irritated by the fact that she had just been seen naked by a man she'd only known for a day and a half. Dione tried to lighten her mood by telling her that Lynard was probably more embarrassed than her, judging by her face. Talia cracked a smile at this, and then both girls began laughing loudly at the whole incident. Dione let Talia dress as she herself undressed in order to take a bath herself, but not before she had locked the deadbolt on their room door. As Dione finished undressing, Talia got a good look at her without her stiff and somewhat unattractive armor. Dione's skin was quite pale and extremely smooth, not so much as a blemish. As her white hair hung about her shoulders, her eyes seemed to glow green in the dimly lit room. Her legs were short but slender, as she herself was only a little over five feet four inches, or so Talia assumed. She took this opportunity to read the journal she had procured while escaping from.....that place. She still didn't know where or what she had woken up to, and was hoping for some answers in that little journal. Just as she opened the cover, a tiny knock was heard at their door. Lynard's voice came softly from the other side. "Umm...if it's, you know...okay, can I come in?" Talia looked towards the bathroom, and decided that Dione would be in there for a little while still. She informed Dione about their visitor and completely closed the bathroom door.  
  
Lynard waited patiently outside the door, waiting for a response, when he heard the deadbolt open. He winced as the door open, expecting another slap. In fact, his face was still sore from earlier. "Well, are you just going to stand there?" Lynard snapped out of his thoughts and walked into the room, very cautiously. Talia giggled. "Don't worry, she's in the bathroom and she knows you're here." Lynard breathed a sigh of relief. "I brought you two some things." He said as he set a small pile of clothing on the bed. "Judging by your current outfit, I thought you'd like some new clothes." Talia agreed and thanked him, taking a quick glance at her own clothes, and remembering that they were badly ripped and didn't look proper at all. "Take what you like, I uhh, got several pairs." "Oh thank you Lynard. You know, you didn't have to do all this for us." Lynard blushed and said that money wasn't a problem for him, and that he didn't mind at all. Talia thanked him again as she held up an azure shirt, checking it's size. It was a little big, but was still ten times better than her current wardrobe. Lynard had also noticed the dagger that Talia carried, and produced a somewhat sleeker, dwarven forged dagger and handed it to her. It was about a foot long, and the blade tapered to an exeptionally sharp point. It also came with it's own belt sheath, so she could wear it comfortably. He also showed her some things he had gotten for Dione, including a set of light, leather armor and an almost identical dagger to Talia's. "I'll show her these as soon as she gets out. Thank you so much." Lynard blushed again. "Like I said, it's nothing, I don't mind helping out." He left the room with a smile and said he'd be retiring for the night and that he would be sure to knock the next morning.  
  
As soon as Lynard had left, Talia closed the door and slipped into a new set of clothes. Around this time Dione finished her bath and walked out into the room. Talia blushed a little as Dione noticed her staring. She quickly looked away and assumed that because elves were raised differently from humans, they might have different concepts of modesty. Talia broke her chain of thought and showed Dione the set of armor Lynard had bought her. Dione was stunned. The leather was of good quality, and backed with a thin plate of steel, much better than the natural armor of her tribe. After she had put it on, Talia mused to herself that she was even prettier with the armor on as she was with it off. After admiring the armor in a mirror, Dione stripped herself of the armor and crawled in the bed to sleep. Talia's eyes widened. "Maybe elves don't have concepts of modesty.....but I do." She thought with a despairing tone. "Oh well." she thought. It's not like Dione would try anything funny. Now, Lynard, on the other hand. She laughed at that thought before realizing that she too, was getting sleepy. She looked longingly at the journal she had set on the small table next to the bed. "I'm too tired to look for answers tonight, I'll do it tomorrow." With that, she resigned to bed and promptly fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
Lynard walked up the stairs to the second floor of the inn after giving the girls the clothes he had bought for them. He soon entered his room and locked the door. As he looked outside, he realized it was getting late, and he needed to hurry. He donned the new breastplate he had gotten for himself, as well as bits of armor for his legs and left arm. He always left his right arm unarmored to allow for better movement. He grabbed his sword and gave it a quick polish before heading out the door. As he reached the bottom floor, he walked quietly past the girls room. "The less they know, the better." He softly said to himself. He successfully made it past their room and headed out the front door. He walked down the short pathway to the main road and made his way to the fighting arena. He had said before that money was not an issue for him, and that was the truth. In almost every large city, shady nobles would hold fighting tournaments. The winner of such a contest would be rewarded with a hefty sum of money, and this was Lynard's main source of income. He had registered his name earlier that day, and mentally psyched himself as he walked there. He had won each contest he'd ever competed in, but as he constantly reminded himself, pride has been the downfall of many a great fighter.  
  
As he approached the entrance to the arena. He was stopped by two armed guards. After giving his name while one guard checked the list, he was allowed to pass. He quickly made his way to the waiting room and sat down until the beginning of the contest was announced. Though Lynard did this often, he did have one regret. These contests were battles to the death, which meant either kill or be killed. Normally he didn't have a problem with this, as many of the fighters that participated simply did it because they enjoyed the act of killing. Lynard felt that the world would be better off without them anyway, and saw it as an opportunity to cleanse the world of these men and receive a nice sized bag of silver for doing it.  
  
There were twelve combatants tonight, which meant the fighters would be paired off against one another. Lynard heard the announcement being made that the fighters were ready, and the tournament would begin. The sound of masses of people yelling could be heard faintly within the thick stone walls. Lynard heard the first two names called....Neither of them his. Lynard left the waiting room and walked down a dark corridor until he came to the opening of the arena to watch the battle. He did this not because he enjoyed it, but because he needed to judge his enemy's weaknesses and battle tactics. Two men walked up behind him. They were the fighters that were to compete in this battle. The two men walked out into the middle of the arena amidst jeers and screams from the crowd. The one on the left was a tall, lanky man. Not nearly as tall as Lynard, mind you, but compared to most men, he was a giant. He was quite thin as well, which probably meant he had quick moves and could easily dodge any number of slow attacks. The other man was of stocky build, and somewhat fat. He had a thick black beard and mustache, and was obviously strong, as he weilded a gigantic war hammer. The tall man instead brandished a thin saber from seemingly out of nowhere and the two fighters took their stances. The bell sounded and the fight began.  
  
The strong man made the first move. He lept with surprising speed and brought his hammer down where the other warrior's head had been just moments before. "Looks like this fight will be a test of agility. If one of them can execute a surprise attack, they could have it won." Lynard said to himself. Back in the ring, the strong man looked over his shoulder just in time to duck a quick slice of the saber, obviously meant for his head. In one fluid motion, the strong man shifted his weight and brought his hammer round in a horizontal arc. The hammer struck the tall man in the side and knocked him a few yards away. However, as the blow lacked proper leverage, it did minimal damage. Lynard mused. "I'd be surprised if he even had a broken rib after that attack." A few moments later, that appeared to be the case, as the tall man seemed to have trouble breathing, making his performance in the arena lacking. He attempted an attack, but his saber was deflected by the head of the war hammer as it raised high into the air. After gasping for breath, the tall man looked up in time to see the flat metal surface of the hammer collide with his head. The momentum of the hammer carried the man's head under it until it reached the ground. The man's skull was crushed instantaneously, leaving blood, bone and brain matter splattered over five yards away from his body.  
  
The strong man raised his hammer over his head and yelled in a language that Lynard couldn't understand, as he was declared the winner. He was granted permission to rest in the waiting room until his next fight. The fight following was a dissapointment to the fans, as it ended quickly and with one blow. Apparently a newcomer had made the mistake of underestimating these fighters, and had falsely believed he could win. He was cut down in an instant by a much more skilled fighter. The next seven battles were mundane at best. Lynard had seen it all before. After all, he had been doing this for years. The two fights he had participated in up to this point had been won with nearly no contest. He did receive a small wound on his left shoulder however, by a small man armed with a dagger. "Most likely a thief." He thought. The man had dodged one of Lynard's attacks and had stabbed him right under the shoulder plate of his armor. He had quickly been dispatched however, as Lynard had taken hold of the thief's arm and slung him into the wall, leaving a large blood stain that trailed down to the man's body crumpled on the floor of the arena.  
  
Lynard held his bandaged shoulder as he prepared for the final round. Since there was an odd number, it would be a three man melee. He had participated in melee's before, but not often. the best tactic is to attempt to team up on one of the opponents, letting someone else expend their energy fighting, then taking advantage of the survivor's resulting fatigue. Lynard surveyed his final opponents. One of them was the strong man from the first round, who now only had half his original beard, and was missing two fingers, but otherwise fine. The other man was strange. He had brought no weapons with him, and fought only with his hands, which were bound in dark blue cloth. He wore a face mask and short hood, while the rest of his attire was tight fitting. At first glance Lynard had thought he was crazy, with no weapons or armor, but after seeing him defeat two people unscathed, he decided not to underestimate him.  
  
As the three opponents walked to the center of the ring, they formed a circle and faced each other. The weaponless man gave a small bow to each of them, and Lynard returned the bow as a warrior's courtesy. This seemed to surprise the man, but he hadn't time to contemplate it, as the bell was rung, signifying the start of the battle. Lynard gripped his giant sword in his hand and moved around the hooded figure, hoping to take him out first, as he was confident that he could successfully dodge the strong man's war hammer. Instead of attacking him, the hooded man hopped backwards towards the strong man. With his back still facing him, he jumped and executed a flying roundhouse to the strong man, shattering his ribcage and leaving him barely conscious. With the strong man unable to fight, the hooded man was free to focus his attention on Lynard. "Dammit! This is not going the way I wanted it! Now I have to fight this freak by myself." Lynard waited, not stupid enough to make the first move. The hooded man waited for a moment as well. As they circled each other, Lynard stared intently into the man's eyes. As dawn began to break, and the arena's lights were turned off, the hooded figure moved so quick Lynard could barely follow. He had seemingly vanished into the shadows. With this man's obvious talent of deception and illusion, Lynard knew better than to trust his eyes at a time like this.  
  
Lynard let his eyes lose focus in the breaking dawn, and listened. The crowd was silent, not wanting to miss even a second of the fight. "Good," Lynard thought."as long as they keep quiet I can find this guy." A footstep! Lynard turned and swung his sword. He didn't feel a connection. "Missed! Dammit!" He stood still once more and listened more intently. After a moment, he heard another footstep. As he was about to swing, he stopped. "No, that was too light to be a footstep. This guy must be throwing damn rocks to throw me off." Suddenly he heard a slightly heavier thud and brought his sword round, holding back none of his strength. He felt it connect, and heard a loud thud in the now bloody sand that made up the arena's floor. As the sun arched over top of the arena, it was clear to everyone who was the winner. The hooded figure's body lay sliced in half below the ribcage, with arms severed at the elbows. Lynard smiled. He had defeated his last opponent, and would make enough money to feed himself, Talia, and Dione for a few weeks at least.  
  
The crowd roared with cheers, as a man in fancy clothes entered the arena. he announced Lynard the winner, and handed him a bag of silver. Lynard felt the weight of the bag. "Damn, this is more than most of the other prizes. I guess that's what I get for coming to a popular city like this." He smiled as he walked back down the dark corridor to the arena's exit. As he left, the two guards, who had been taking turns watching the fights, congratulated him on being the winner. He thanked them both and headed back towards the inn. The adrenaline and thrill of battle finally wearing off, Lynard found himself exhausted. He realized he would only get a few hours sleep, but he made plans to sneak in a nap that afternoon while the girls were off in the city. Lynard stripped off his armor and lay down just as the sun rose completely. Content that he had won enough money to keep their group fed and sheltered, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, a whole ONE review. whoopee!! C'mon guys, do you like it, do you hate it, do you want me to stop writing completely? Gimme some feedback here, I'm working my ass off for this fic.

Chapter five  
  
Talia dared to open her eyes. The sunlight coming through the windows was almost blinding. She sat up slowly, and after about a minute got up and stumbled towards the bathroom. She checked the mirror, and quickly wished she hadn't. She had rings under her eyes from sleeping in, and her red hair was frizzed and sticking out everywhere. She splashed some water in her face and smoothed out her hair. After a few minutes she walked into the other room and changed clothes, when she noticed the light breathing coming from under the covers. She peeled them back and found Dione sleeping. She was still unclothed, as she was the night before, and Talia smiled at the look of innocence on her face. She scribbled down a quick note to Dione that she was going to the library. After grabbing the journal and heading out the front door, Talia realized that she had absolutely no idea where the library was, or even if there was one. About an hour, and four pointing fingers later, she found a large building which she assumed was Theodin's library.  
  
The building was enormous, and carved completely out of spotted marble, making it look as though it was brand new, when in reality, it was probably over fifty years old. She stepped inside, and was relieved to see a massive amount of books. The inside was beautiful, still carved completely out of marble. It had three floors full of shelves, and massive tables in open sections on each floor. She found an empty table and sat down to finally read the journal, and hopefully get some answers. She opened it up to the first page, and began reading.  
  
1/12- We've completed construction on the Riptide facility. All of the lab equipment is being set up right now, and the specimen tanks are being moved into the innermost   
  
Laboratory. Tomorrow we will begin gene therapy on the subjects.  
  
1/22- Our first surviving specimen! Today's success is cause for celebration. All of the previous subjects had died within hours of the introduction of the gene serum.  
  
Since it is our first success, subject 0 will be moved to a controlled environment free of outside influence.  
  
2/4- Subject 0 has shown an increased growth rate, and is now conscious to the waking world.  
  
2/6- We've removed subject 0 from it's containment tank, and have created an artificial environment for it to reside in. It seems to be growing more aware every day, and  
  
our presence has been noticed.  
  
2/12- Amazing! Not only has subject 0 grown fully articulable limbs, but has divided asexually. There are now two live subjects in the environmental chamber. They do not  
  
appear to be bothered by each other's presence.  
  
3/14- It's been a month, and there are now fourteen creatures, all originally spawned from subject 0. We have not been able to determine any actual gender, however  
  
subject 0 appears to present itself as the "alpha male" if you will.  
  
3/26- The slivers, as we have named them, show quite a liking to meat. In fact, they appear totally carniverous, not even paying heed to the assortment of vegetables  
  
and fruits we have introduced to them.  
  
4/2- Today is a sad day. We've had our first casualty. One of the handlers let his guard down and was swarmed by the slivers. When we returned to the lab, we found  
  
nothing but blood stains and bits of shattered bone. We've decided to use automatons to deliver the sliver's their food from now on.  
  
5/13- Complete chaos! The slivers have broken free from the environmental housing, and have run rampant, feeding on any living thing they find. They have no ocular  
  
organs, and so we assume they attack based on the scent of blood.  
  
5/15- We've managed to survive two days without the slivers finding us, but we're running short on supplies. Soon myself and the two others that are with me will have  
  
to make a run for a supply room in the outside corridor. It's risky, but if we stay here, we will surely die. This may be my last entry, so...wish me luck.  
  
5/16- I've been feeling ill all day. We decided to leave our locked room and attempt to make it to the supply closet. I am the only survivor. I did however, run across  
  
one of the lab assistants who had apparently been knocked unconscious by a vicious blow to the head. She is barely breathing....I hope she'll be okay.  
  
5/17- I'm counting the days till' the end. It seems hopeless. I believe the slivers have multiplied even more, and are using the natural blades on their arms to cut  
  
through the building's support beams. They seem to be more intelligent than we first thought.  
  
5/18- The sounds outside the door have ceased. I believe the slivers have left, but am still too afraid to check outside the door. I've been gravity feeding the girl  
  
I found some water, but she still hasn't woken up. I fear she may be in a coma.  
  
5/19- We've run out of supplies, and I'm about to leave the room and move to a different supply room on the other side of the compound. I haven't heard signs of movement in over a day, so I'm hoping that they have left in search of other food.  
  
Talia found that the last entry was smeared with dried blood, rendering it illegible. She didn't care, she'd read enough. To think, that anyone would even consider playing god like that, and to what end? Death and destruction. Then she remembered. "My clothes...were...the same as the lab workers I saw dead in the corridor." She couldn't believe it. She had helped create those monsters. Why? What had possessed her to do such a thing? She laid her head on the table and burst into tears. A moment later she realized she was starting to attract attention. She stood up slowly and walked out, still crying soflty. By the time she made it to her room, Dione was just now beginning to take a morning bath. Talia was glad. She really wanted to be alone right now, at least for a little while. She sat on the bed holding the journal tightly to her chest and cried.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Dione had finished with her bath, and was just coming out when she saw Talia sobbing quietly on the edge of the bed. "What's the matter?" She asked. Talia jumped, then wiped her eyes and cracked a smile. "I...I remembered. I remember everything." She had lied. She didn't care. All she knew was that she had helped do something terrible, and didn't want to remember. Dione looked confused. "Forgive me, it's not my business." Dione walked out of the room and left Talia to her thoughts. Talia sought for any shred of evidence that didn't put her in the postition of creating those creatures. Even though the author of the journal never spoke her name, it all fit together. She could see no other way. She realized that she'd have to accept this as fact, and find a way to move on. But, one thing still bothered her. That hole in the wall at the Riptide facility, that...."Oh no.....oh god, please no." She stared at the journal for a long while, then simply stated. "They're.....free."


End file.
